Browse Archives

Senator Loren Legarda today lauded the government for including climate change adaptation in its priority programs through the creation of a Climate Change Cabinet Cluster.

Under Executive Order No. 43, a Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Cluster, along with four other clusters, was created to pursue the adoption of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures by local government units and their respective communities, national government agencies, and the general public; and ensure that these are incorporated in their annual work plans and budgets.

However, Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change and principal author of the Climate Change Act of 2009 (Republic Act 9729), said that President Aquino would need to revisit the law and introduce adjustments to this new executive order to ensure coherence on the nation’s climate change policy.

“We commend this move to create a Climate Change Cabinet Cluster. The creation of this Cabinet cluster is a significant step towards building the country’s resilience to the projected impacts of climate change,” she explained.

“However, I think some amendments are necessary to make the cluster more effective. The Climate Change Act of 2009, recognizing that climate change affects various sectors, created the Commission on Climate Change which is tasked to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the programs and action plans of the government relating to climate change. It would be appropriate that the Commission is made lead agency of the cluster rather than the Secretariat,” she pointed out.

The Senator also said that the Departments of Finance and Budget and Management should be part of the cluster as climate change should be mainstreamed in public finance and budgeting processes.

She stressed that the inclusion of DOF and DBM in the cluster will help strengthen the country’s climate change policy with a complementing strategy on climate finance.

“Climate change is a cross-cutting concern that touches upon our basic human rights—the right to food, right to potable water, right to decent shelter and right to life itself. Floods, droughts and super typhoons regularly strike us with their attendant savagery. All of these kill people, destroy property, upset our production and planting schedules and undo our development gains. Climate change adaptation deserves priority attention from the government,” Legarda concluded.